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Sunday, 20 June 10
OUR COAL: ITS DEVELOPMENT AND CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES
 Indonesia’s production of coal has been growing amazingly. In the mid 1980s, national coal production was less than 1 million tons per annum, whereas energy planners (in the fourth Five Year Development Plan: 1989-1994) pointed at 10 million tons as the national production target.
The current production has jumped dramatically, recorded as 237 million tons in 2008 (predicted to achieve 270 million tons this year), making Indonesia a world class producer and the largest exporter of coal around the globe. The skyrocketing growth of our coal production has also incited many controversial issues.
Coal is considered as the dirtiest among fossil fuels, making environmentalists oppose their wide use
as fuel.
However, the proposal for ceasing use of coal — power generation, for instance — would be challenged by power utilities demanding low cost fuel that coal may offer and by the government, which has the responsibility to provide electricity as well as have revenue from exploiting its energy resources.
Despite the world’s rising anxiety of global warming, IEA (International Energy Agency: World Energy Outlook 2009) statistics shows that the world consumption for coal, for the last decade, is still growing the fastest among primary energy sources.
The environmental problem associated with coal in Indonesia is not limited to green houses gases (GHG), but also damage and pollution since its exploitation, transportation and uses to post mining.
It is easy to find where many coal fields are not mined appropriately according to “good mining and environmental practices”, coal transportation is not considering safety standards and is damaging rivers, (public) roads and seashores.
The coal mining has polluted the land, water and air of especially Kalimantan, where more than 90 percent of Indonesia’s coal mining operations take place.
It is sad that many of the previous mining areas have been abandoned without being properly reclaimed, whereas thousands of hectares of the island’s tropical forests have been converted into desert.
The soaring exploitation, including its negative impact on the environment, has a strong correlation with the number of licensing/permits awarded.
The introduction of the 1999 Regional Autonomy Law, subsequently followed by the 1999 Fiscal Balancing Law between the Central and Regional Governments have — to some degree — impacted on the coal licensing regime, where larger authorities had been given to regional/local governments.
Under the new licensing regime by local governments, requirements for coal permits tend to be relaxed whereas monitoring has not been done properly.
As a result, the number of permits (Mining Authorization/KP) has been growing considerably (currently 462, of which 169 are producing), coal production increases, but also environmental problems and the issues of illegal mining exist.
The question of who really owns the KP licenses exists, which was defined as that it can be owned by Indonesian national/companies only.
While the largest part of coal in Indonesia are being produced by large companies (the holders of Coal Contract of Work/PKP2B), some coal is mined by small scale and illegal miners.
It is believed that a significant amount of coal has been produced by illegal miners (some 5 million tons annually) and part has gone to meet export demand.
Wherever in the world, illegal miners lack interest in responsible mining and mine rehabilitation practices. Illegal mining is a problem for potential investors, the environment and government revenues.
The government has introduced measures to crack down on problems, including arresting illegal miners.
However, it cannot be the only solution since illegal mining is actually rooted in underemployment, local poverty and weak law enforcement, while the number of people involved in these activities is quite significant.
An alternative to confrontation to illegal miners by the central government (who awards the large scale PKP2B mining license) should be a cooperative and more comprehensive approach.
“Despite the world’s anxiety of global warming, IEA statistics shows that the world consumption for coal is still growing the fastest among primary energy sources.”
Work together with local/rural governments and communities to reduce poverty, educate/assist the illegal miners to increase their awareness on good mining practices (including mine rehabilitation), provide transition period fiscal incentives to encourage illegal mining toward the regulated mining sector, among others.
It needs to maintain an appropriate balance between the soaring exports of coal (about three quarters of production on average) and the domestic growing demand for the same fuel.
Push for exports is still coming largely from the traditional East Asians (Japan is the largest), while the coal-hungry India and China are also increasing their demand for our coal.
The exports will be competed with by the Blue Print for Energy Management 2005-2025 pointing out that one third of Indonesia’s energy primary energy mix in 2025 is to be supplied by coal, (the current share is about 15 percent).
Even though it is often mentioned that our coal reserves are quite large (current proven reserves of 5.5 billion tons; estimated resources of 105 tones) and that our reserves for coal are much larger than that of oil and gas, we should watch their fast rate of exploitation cautiously.
It needs to recalculate the benefit of exploiting them, taking into account their damage to the environment and what is left post mining. Where have all the revenues from exploiting that coal gone? Is the escalating export not jeopardizing the domestic energy security in the near future?
We have ample experiences, for instance in exploiting the resources-rich Kalimantan. The forests, oil and gas reserves have been exploited for about four to five decades, but it seems that the island has not enjoyed the fruits of the excessive exploitation: the current regional economy remains weak, infrastructure is poor and energy supplies for local uses have not been secured.
It needs to promote the terms “resources balance, depletion, sustainability”, start internalizing the costs of environmental impact and enforce those concepts into workable policies for our coal mining development.
The writer is the senior energy planner and an economist with the National Development Planning Agency. The opinions expressed are his own.
Source: The Jakarta Post ( Hanan Nugroho)
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Friday, 22 April 11
DRY BULK MARKET KEEPS FALLING, NOW AT TWO-MONTH LOWS - NIKOS ROUSSANOGLOU, HELLENIC SHIPPING
The dry bulk market seems unable at the moment to recover from the weight of newbuilding deliveries, resulting in too many ships competing for fewer ...
Wednesday, 20 April 11
TNPL SECURED 160K MT OF COAL WITH CALORIFIC VALUE 6000 GAD AT US$ 93.44 PMT
COALspot.com - Delhi based Knowledge Infrastructure Systems Pvt. Ltd once again offered the lowest price of US$ 93.44 per metric ton for calorific v ...
Wednesday, 20 April 11
TSI LAUNCHES GEO-COAL UPGRADING TECHNOLOGY
Simple yet effective process boosts calorific value of low rank coal to provide lower cost energy across the world.
Press Release - Total Sinergy ...
Wednesday, 20 April 11
ADARO TO PAY OUT RP 970B IN DIVIDENDS - THE JAKARTA POST
The Jakarta Post reported that, the annual shareholders meeting of coal producer PT Adaro Energy on Wednesday agreed on the disbursement of Rp 970.7 ...
Wednesday, 20 April 11
INDIA IMPORTS MORE COAL FROM INDONESIA
COALspot.com - Indonesian coal exports jumped 23.31 percent during March 2011. The world’s largest coal exporter shipped 27, ...
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- Madhucon Powers Ltd - India
- Salva Resources Pvt Ltd - India
- Agrawal Coal Company - India
- Altura Mining Limited, Indonesia
- Global Coal Blending Company Limited - Australia
- Bahari Cakrawala Sebuku - Indonesia
- Standard Chartered Bank - UAE
- Rio Tinto Coal - Australia
- Pipit Mutiara Jaya. PT, Indonesia
- Economic Council, Georgia
- Electricity Authority, New Zealand
- The Treasury - Australian Government
- Australian Commodity Traders Exchange
- Indo Tambangraya Megah - Indonesia
- Gujarat Sidhee Cement - India
- Borneo Indobara - Indonesia
- Bhushan Steel Limited - India
- Renaissance Capital - South Africa
- SN Aboitiz Power Inc, Philippines
- Asia Pacific Energy Resources Ventures Inc, Philippines
- GAC Shipping (India) Pvt Ltd
- Xindia Steels Limited - India
- Central Electricity Authority - India
- Planning Commission, India
- Siam City Cement - Thailand
- Sakthi Sugars Limited - India
- Gujarat Mineral Development Corp Ltd - India
- TNB Fuel Sdn Bhd - Malaysia
- Dr Ramakrishna Prasad Power Pvt Ltd - India
- Bukit Baiduri Energy - Indonesia
- International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd - India
- Ceylon Electricity Board - Sri Lanka
- SMG Consultants - Indonesia
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited - India
- Kalimantan Lumbung Energi - Indonesia
- European Bulk Services B.V. - Netherlands
- Goldman Sachs - Singapore
- Karbindo Abesyapradhi - Indoneisa
- Kaltim Prima Coal - Indonesia
- Bayan Resources Tbk. - Indonesia
- Riau Bara Harum - Indonesia
- South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation
- Wood Mackenzie - Singapore
- Meenaskhi Energy Private Limited - India
- Kohat Cement Company Ltd. - Pakistan
- Mintek Dendrill Indonesia
- Asmin Koalindo Tuhup - Indonesia
- Australian Coal Association
- PNOC Exploration Corporation - Philippines
- Vedanta Resources Plc - India
- Maheswari Brothers Coal Limited - India
- GVK Power & Infra Limited - India
- SMC Global Power, Philippines
- Anglo American - United Kingdom
- Indika Energy - Indonesia
- Kartika Selabumi Mining - Indonesia
- San Jose City I Power Corp, Philippines
- Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
- Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Samtan Co., Ltd - South Korea
- Mercator Lines Limited - India
- Sarangani Energy Corporation, Philippines
- Indogreen Group - Indonesia
- White Energy Company Limited
- Coal and Oil Company - UAE
- Minerals Council of Australia
- Meralco Power Generation, Philippines
- Orica Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Bharathi Cement Corporation - India
- Kideco Jaya Agung - Indonesia
- Thai Mozambique Logistica
- TeaM Sual Corporation - Philippines
- Energy Development Corp, Philippines
- Ministry of Transport, Egypt
- Trasteel International SA, Italy
- ICICI Bank Limited - India
- Larsen & Toubro Limited - India
- Essar Steel Hazira Ltd - India
- London Commodity Brokers - England
- Romanian Commodities Exchange
- Central Java Power - Indonesia
- LBH Netherlands Bv - Netherlands
- Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission - India
- Bhoruka Overseas - Indonesia
- MS Steel International - UAE
- Port Waratah Coal Services - Australia
- Savvy Resources Ltd - HongKong
- Pendopo Energi Batubara - Indonesia
- Price Waterhouse Coopers - Russia
- ASAPP Information Group - India
- Binh Thuan Hamico - Vietnam
- PetroVietnam Power Coal Import and Supply Company
- Global Business Power Corporation, Philippines
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd., India
- Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd. - India
- Edison Trading Spa - Italy
- CNBM International Corporation - China
- GMR Energy Limited - India
- Kepco SPC Power Corporation, Philippines
- Africa Commodities Group - South Africa
- Bukit Makmur.PT - Indonesia
- Coastal Gujarat Power Limited - India
- Simpson Spence & Young - Indonesia
- Ambuja Cements Ltd - India
- Vijayanagar Sugar Pvt Ltd - India
- Intertek Mineral Services - Indonesia
- Mjunction Services Limited - India
- Sojitz Corporation - Japan
- Makarim & Taira - Indonesia
- Directorate General of MIneral and Coal - Indonesia
- Ind-Barath Power Infra Limited - India
- Orica Mining Services - Indonesia
- Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence - India
- Kapuas Tunggal Persada - Indonesia
- Eastern Coal Council - USA
- Billiton Holdings Pty Ltd - Australia
- Global Green Power PLC Corporation, Philippines
- Star Paper Mills Limited - India
- Ministry of Finance - Indonesia
- Baramulti Group, Indonesia
- CIMB Investment Bank - Malaysia
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - India
- Thiess Contractors Indonesia
- Bangladesh Power Developement Board
- The University of Queensland
- Grasim Industreis Ltd - India
- Parliament of New Zealand
- VISA Power Limited - India
- PowerSource Philippines DevCo
- Interocean Group of Companies - India
- Latin American Coal - Colombia
- Cigading International Bulk Terminal - Indonesia
- Barasentosa Lestari - Indonesia
- Chamber of Mines of South Africa
- Oldendorff Carriers - Singapore
- Petrochimia International Co. Ltd.- Taiwan
- Wilmar Investment Holdings
- Manunggal Multi Energi - Indonesia
- Miang Besar Coal Terminal - Indonesia
- Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan
- Sindya Power Generating Company Private Ltd
- OPG Power Generation Pvt Ltd - India
- Jorong Barutama Greston.PT - Indonesia
- Coalindo Energy - Indonesia
- Offshore Bulk Terminal Pte Ltd, Singapore
- Straits Asia Resources Limited - Singapore
- Videocon Industries ltd - India
- Bulk Trading Sa - Switzerland
- Therma Luzon, Inc, Philippines
- Parry Sugars Refinery, India
- New Zealand Coal & Carbon
- Independent Power Producers Association of India
- GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant, Philippines
- Bhatia International Limited - India
- Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
- Iligan Light & Power Inc, Philippines
- Tamil Nadu electricity Board
- Alfred C Toepfer International GmbH - Germany
- Bukit Asam (Persero) Tbk - Indonesia
- Cement Manufacturers Association - India
- Deloitte Consulting - India
- Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Philippines
- Semirara Mining Corp, Philippines
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd, - India
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited
- Kumho Petrochemical, South Korea
- Truba Alam Manunggal Engineering.Tbk - Indonesia
- Sical Logistics Limited - India
- Metalloyd Limited - United Kingdom
- Formosa Plastics Group - Taiwan
- Holcim Trading Pte Ltd - Singapore
- Malabar Cements Ltd - India
- Posco Energy - South Korea
- Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd - India
- Commonwealth Bank - Australia
- Eastern Energy - Thailand
- Kobexindo Tractors - Indoneisa
- Aboitiz Power Corporation - Philippines
- Marubeni Corporation - India
- Aditya Birla Group - India
- Georgia Ports Authority, United States
- Vizag Seaport Private Limited - India
- Petron Corporation, Philippines
- AsiaOL BioFuels Corp., Philippines
- Dalmia Cement Bharat India
- Filglen & Citicon Mining (HK) Ltd - Hong Kong
- Jaiprakash Power Ventures ltd
- Medco Energi Mining Internasional
- Sinarmas Energy and Mining - Indonesia
- India Bulls Power Limited - India
- Merrill Lynch Commodities Europe
- Carbofer General Trading SA - India
- Indonesian Coal Mining Association
- McConnell Dowell - Australia
- IHS Mccloskey Coal Group - USA
- Uttam Galva Steels Limited - India
- Singapore Mercantile Exchange
- Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited - India
- Banpu Public Company Limited - Thailand
- Ministry of Mines - Canada
- IEA Clean Coal Centre - UK
- Dong Bac Coal Mineral Investment Coporation - Vietnam
- Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd - Australia
- Energy Link Ltd, New Zealand
- The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd
- PTC India Limited - India
- Tata Chemicals Ltd - India
- Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd - India
- Timah Investasi Mineral - Indoneisa
- Antam Resourcindo - Indonesia
- Heidelberg Cement - Germany
- Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - India
- Indian Energy Exchange, India
- Globalindo Alam Lestari - Indonesia
- Mercuria Energy - Indonesia
- Siam City Cement PLC, Thailand
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